■ CONGO (KINSHASA): FlyCAA boss decries heavy taxation in the DRC as discouraging a safety-first mentality amongst airlines.
Jean-Marc Pajot, the Director of Congolese domestic and regional operator, FlyCAA (a tie up between CAA - Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (FPY), and flyCongo (EO)) says the DRC's heavy taxation of aircraft and related sundries seriously discourages and impedes airlines from pursuing a "safety-first" mentality.
► ZIMBABWE: New startup, Rainbow Airlines, wants in on the action.
Nascent carrier, Rainbow Airlines, is set to join Zimbabwe's growing list of privately backed carriers seeking to exploit the country's under-served and overpriced domestic and regional markets, a Government Gazette published last Friday reports.
► MAURITIUS: Thomson Airways plans 1x weekly Gatwick - Mauritius 787 flight from May 2014.
British charter outfit, Thomson Airways (BY), will, from May 2014, launch a 1x weekly service from London Gatwick to Mauritius on-board Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
► ZAMBIA: Ethiopian Airlines turned off further expansion into Zambia over poor loads on Ndola flights.
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) says very poor loads on its Addis Ababa – Ndola – Lubumbashi (DRC) – Addis Ababa flights launched back in late March are a cause for concern for the airline, with the Ethiopian carrier now hesitant to further expand into Zambia.
► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian plans changes to Johannesburg, Toronto from May/June.
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is planning to deploy its B777-200LRs on its daily Johannesburg route effective 05MAY, replacing its current B767-300ER service, and as from 19JUN, a third weekly Addis Ababa - Toronto flight will be introduced using a B787-8.
►► NIGER: Afriqiyah to tentatively resume Niamey flights this month following inter-governmental talks.
[UPDATE 29 APRIL 2013] Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah (8U), is expected to resume twice weekly flights to Niamey, Niger later this month following discussions held in Tripoli between the Nigerien ambassador, Hassan Maloune, and the Libyan Minister of Transport, Abdel Kader Mohamed.
► CANARY ISLANDS: Mauritania Airlines International eyes Las Palmas as first EU destination from early May.
Mauritania Airlines International (L6) has set Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands as its first European destination following the removal of Mauritania and all its airlines from the EU's No Fly List. Thrice weekly flights are scheduled to begin on May 8.
■ BELGIUM: Government awards Brussels Airlines 2 extra Kinshasa slots; Jetairfly to lodge complaint with EC.
Belgian LCC, Jetairfly (TB) has lodged a complaint with the European Commission following a decision by the Belgian Secretary of State for Mobility, Melchior Wathelet, to award two additional frequencies between Brussels and the Congolese capital of Kinshasa to Brussels Airlines as outlined under a newly revised Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) signed between Congo and Belgium in February this year.
■ SOUTH AFRICA: Forensic audit reveals $20million loss for SA Express in FY 2010/2011.
Following a long, painstaking forensic audit, South African Express (SA Express) (XZ) has finally released its 2010/2011 Financial Year results posting a USD20.6million (ZAR187million) loss.
► SEYCHELLES: Air Force takes delivery of first Do-228 Patrol aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics.
The Seychelles Air Force has taken delivery of a Dornier 228 patrol aircraft following a donation from the government of India as agreed to under an agreement signed between the two nations in 2011 in which India would provide a once-off grant of USD28.79 million for the supply of the maritime aircraft. A further aircraft is due in 2014.
► KENYA: (Video) Ethiopian successfully resumes 787 ops with flight to Nairobi; Frankfurt to follow.
Boeing's incident plagued aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has successfully resumed operations for Ethiopian Airlines (ET) following the replacement of the aircraft's problematic Li-ion battery; the cause of the Dreamliner fleet's grounding since mid-January.
► ZAMBIA: Air Namibia acquires 5th Freedom rights to Lusaka - Harare vv. sector from May 1.
Today marks The African Aviation Tribune's first birthday; with nearly 1'500 posts now down in the database, she has come a long way since the very early days when it was simply a matter of cutting and pasting news articles. In terms of readers, in the 12 months The Tribune has been online, we have now developed a strong following in the African airline industry with industry professionals from airlines, MROs and aircraft lessors amongst others forming the crux of our readership.
■ DJIBOUTI: Ethiopian Airlines signs MoU with Djibouti Ambouli International Airport to aide trade facilitation.
Ethiopian Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport regarding the transport of goods using both sea-air and air-sea means throughout the Horn of Africa.
■ SOUTH AFRICA: SAA delays début bond issuance; warns it will play hardball with Airbus and Boeing in future fleet renewal talks.
South African Airways (SA) is to delay its début USD160million (ZAR1.5 billion) bond sale, originally slated for March, until its chief financier and backer, the South African government, approves the airline's recently submitted turnaround plan. The turnaround plan will also play a pivotal part in deciding the airline's long term fleet acquisition plans; a bone of serious contention in the recent past.
■ KENYA: Siginon Aviation's new $10million cargo facility at Nairobi JKIA on track for September opening.
Siginon Aviation says its planned USD10million new cargo facility at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is on track for a tentative September 2013 launch. The facility will become JKIA's sixth and will add to its current processing capacity of 200'000 tonnes of cargo annually.
► FRANCE: See Pics of Libyan Airlines' first A330 due for delivery next month!
Libyan Airlines (LN) is set to take delivery of its first of two Airbus A330-200 (MCN 1412 | 5A-LAR) due in the coming weeks. The order is part of a larger deal for four of the aircraft of which the other two are due in Libya in May 2014.
■ ZIMBABWE: Government to open up airport services sector through proposed unbundling of CAAZ.
Various airport services in Zimbabwe could soon be opened up to other players following reports from Harare that the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe is to be unbundled into two separate entities in line with the country's National Transport Policy.
► RWANDA: Rwandair announces further changes to its Summer 2013 schedule.
AirlineRoute reports that as per the 23APR13 GDS timetable and inventory display, Rwandan national carrier, Rwandair (WB), will further revise its planned operation for Summer 2013 season, effective 01JUN13.
■ CONGO (KINSHASA): Lubumbashi Airport to close 3 days a week from May to October as RVA finally upgrades crumbling infrastructure.
Lubumbashi International Airport (also known as Luano International Airport) is to be closed for three days a week between May and October 2013 due to maintenance and upgrading works being done to the airport terminal and runway 07/25.
► SOUTH AFRICA: fastjet to enter South African market under JV with local investment firm; to use FedAir's AOC.
► KENYA: fastjet, Don Smith agree to kiss and makeup.
Tanzanian LCC, fastjet (FN), has announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Don Smith, CEO of FiveForty Aviation Limited which trades in Kenya as Fly540, thereby paving the way forward for the two to end a long standing legal battle over payment and licensing agreements in Africa.
■ CONGO (KINSHASA): Government proceeds with setting up of new national carrier as concerns arise over LAC's liquidation.
Congolese Minister of Transport and Communication, Justin Kalumba, has said previously announced plans for the setting up of a new national carrier to replace LAC - Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (4V), now in liquidation, are at an advanced stage, though there are concerns as to the fate of LAC's property, equipment and staff, who had been promised a renewed future once a new airline was established.
■ TANZANIA: See Rendering for Dar es Salaam's new $170million Terminal III to be built by BAM International.
The Tanzanian Airport Authority has signed a contract worth USD170million with Dutch construction firm, BAM International, for the construction of a new international terminal (Terminal 3) at Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International (JNIA).
■ SOUTH AFRICA: Government planning to merge SAA, Mango, SA Express into one holding company?
South African Airways (SA) and its subsidiaries, Low Cost Carrier Mango (JE), SA Express (XZ) (and possibly SA Airlink (4Z) though no mention is made of it) could be merged into a single holding company according to a leaked SAA communique.
■ NAMIBIA: Air Namibia allegedly tries to back out of A330 deal with Intrepid; Government served with $130million bill.
The Namibian press reports that the Government has been served with a Notice of default following national carrier Air Namibia's (SW) attempt at cancelling a USD130million deal signed last year for two Airbus A330-200s with US-based Intrepid Aviation, a privately held commercial aircraft lessor.
■ GAMBIA: Government ratifies BASAs with Kenya, Saudi Arabia.
Gambia's parliament has moved to ratify two Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA); one with Kenya, paving the way for possible Kenya Airways flights (KQ) and the second, with Saudi Arabia.


Today we live in the society that has evolved for the last twenty-thirty years more than for the past two centuries. First people got the concept of creating fire – became far more independent from weather changes and time of the year; the invention of the gun powder changed the situation in the world drastically – those nations, that had enough of it, started to conquer their neighbors; the advent of steam driven machines made manual labor less needed, and people got an opportunity to develop spiritually. I believe that at that moment people started to be dependent on society and the need in being in touch all the time by any means possible.
Modern society presupposes constant connection with different people on the daily basis and the idea of being alone becomes something unacceptable for most people. It is worth mentioning that particular social actions (like visiting prom with someone or getting married and having kids, for example) become mandatory and society strongly disapproves any deviations from this course of actions. Prom is the quintessence of social pressure for any teenager. I think that prom was made up to distill the society from the early years of a person's development and segregate it for successful, popular, strong (in social meaning) individuals and losers. It is possible that such invention was unintentional and logical, without any second thoughts, but eventually it became some kind of borderline for losers and winners. If I am not a jock or cheerleader girl – I am a potential loser in high school. If I am a loser – I have fewer chances to invite someone I like to the prom (it is not popular among students!). Therefore, the mass opinion shapes my life and greatly influences my behavior. It is not right.
We can see these ongoing changes right now. The advent of microchips created numerous opportunities for the appearance of new, previously even unimagined technologies that are so common for us today. It was information technologies that created another, virtual world that lives today its own parallel life with millions of people in it. The advent of the Internet has changed our life, transformed our understanding of the term "communication". People got an opportunity to communicate with each other on the real-time basis, share photos and other information, gather into communities with the same interests. It was the beginning of a new era – an era of the Internet society.
We are too social creatures to ignore such capabilities of socialization that the Internet provides. Therefore, such concept as blogging came into our life not so long ago and in the lives of some of us it takes a significant place. To my belief, blogging is one of the forms of self-expression and communication with other people. Blogs allow people to write and upload any information they find interesting or important to share with others regardless of the actual value of it. Blogs allow people to think they are so special even being alone in this world, while they cannot live without appraisal of their thoughts and actions, or any form of attention, at the very least.
I am not a blogger myself. However, blogging became somewhat of a pop culture for the masses. What other tool can provide so many people with the opportunity to say whatever they want online? Blogging and bloggers became popular because of the attractiveness to be 'free' and share any information with others. It became even some kind of a trend. Blogs can be interesting and useful as well as absolutely useless. However, I think that any blog has the right to exist because it either becomes popular or falls into decay, obeying natural laws – the 'strongest' wins. It has influence on the internet audience and people around it in a rather well developed society of any country across the globe. It only proves my point – people are hypocrites in their desire to look independent and able to be alone in this world. The reality is different.
The situation with prom, for example, or socialization of both sexes in the last years of high school can be rather representative. Modern families are usually built using a considerably limited set of patterns – school dating, college dating, career, then family, or career plus family. Therefore, young people are usually pressured by the elders like parents in terms of not being alone by any means because it is not socially appropriate and other people might think that something is wrong with their children. For me, it means being under serious pressure when some social activity presupposes having a date for the event because it just has to be so by tradition.
I see this as a form of dependence from social opinion, while the declared independence from it is just a myth. People in America and in predominantly white suburban areas where parents make a huge deal about prom and social aspects are greatly dependent on tradition and social opinion. For me it is rather strange and weird considering the ideals of the free country the U.S. has been implementing from its creation. Individuality and freedom of will were the basic characteristics of the first colonist, adventurers, and luck hunters. Today, I live in the society that truly believes in the idea that a student, for example, must attend prom or dances with someone and that it would be social suicide to go alone. It is not that America I would love to live in.
There is another problem with such forced socialization – lack of individuality. People of my age become alike. They all look almost the same, eat the same, do the same, dress the same, and even think the same, following the latest trends of fashion and other stuff brought from TV shows and the internet. Future can be improved and developed by individuals only like the above-mentioned pioneers of the West that had built this country – they were individuals. Therefore, it is utterly important to find one's personal position in this life, be individual, be somebody, be a personality and not the part of mass culture with mandatory visiting the prom with a date. The society will be stronger and more competitive; individuals will be more valuable for the society and people around. Life is individual for any of us, so there is no sense of spending it according to someone's mindless guidelines.


While parent fees are high, many Registered Early Childhood Educators are putting off starting their own families or leaving the field because wages in the sector are too low.
This Mother's Day weekend, parents and Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are holding a Stroller Brigade at Toronto City Hall on May 13th 2017 from 10 am – 12 pm to call for an early years and child care system that provides professional pay and decent work, supported by the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC).
With the Ontario government's recent promise to create 100,000 child care spaces over five years, parents and educators are expecting Kathleen Wynne to deliver big things for child care. But with 24% of RECEs and 67% of other staff working in licensed child care making $15/hour or less, decent work can't wait five years or until the next election.
Educators and parents are sending a message to Premier Kathleen Wynne that RECEs and early years staff are valuable partners who support communities.
"As a parent with a son in child care, I see the vital work that educators do every day. They deserve professional pay and decent work now." said Toronto mother Munizah Salman.
With the government's proposed expansion of child care spaces comes the promise of 20,000 new jobs in child care. But to attract and retain the best educators and staff the Ontario government must ensure a child care system with professional pay and decent work.
"I know that too many educators can't afford to stay working in a profession that they love. As an ECE student looking to the future, I want to contribute my professional skills and knowledge, but it's only fair to expect decent wages and working conditions." said Sophia Mohamed, a George Brown College Early Childhood Leadership student.
"RECEs are the key to quality child care, so it is critical that the workforce is considered when funding and planning to build new quality child care spaces. Child care is more than places and spaces – it's time to value every educator." said Lyndsay Macdonald, Coordinator of the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario.
It is kind of sad, not to say shameful, that in in the 21st century in the "1st world country" we have to draw attention to child care and crisis it goes through, really?


Baddeleyite is a rare zirconium oxide mineral (ZrO2 or zirconia), occurring in a variety of monoclinic prismatic crystal forms. It is transparent to translucent, has high indices of refraction (nα=2.130, nβ=2.190, and nγ=2.200), and ranges from colorless to yellow, green, and dark brown. The mineral has a specific gravity of 5.5 to 6 and a Mohs hardness of 6.5. Baddeleyite is a refractory mineral, with a melting point of 2700 °C. Hafnium is a substituting impurity and may be present in quantities ranging from 0.1 to several percent.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Baddeleyite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.


Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and had lots of time to relax and rejuvenate before starting a fresh new year.
With the start of a new year, many of you may have already crafted your new year's resolutions and some of you may have disregarded resolutions as unrealistic and unattainable pipe dreams. Wherever you are on the spectrum of opinions about New Year's resolutions, having goals is essential tool to guiding your future in the direction that you want it to go. And what better time to set some goals for your personal and professional life?
Hope to see you at an event soon! Happy New Year!


text:
UC sustainability: Students and solar light the way forward
By Andy Murdock, UC Newsroom Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Credit: Elena Zhukova
Roughly 52 percent of UC employees use transit, walk, bike or commute in ways other than single-occupancy vehicles, nearly double the statewide average of 27 percent.
UC sustainability highlights
Highlights from the 2016 Annual Report on Sustainable Practices include:
Waste. In 2015-2016, 69 percent of waste was diverted from landfills. UC sends 198 pounds per person to landfills per year, 26 percent less than other comparable universities.
Renewable energy. The first of two solar farms came online in the Central Valley, totaling 80 megawatts, part of the largest solar purchase ever made by a U.S. university. More than 36 megawatts of on-site solar energy is currently installed systemwide.
Sustainable investments. UC is ranked first among university investment funds and 17th among all worldwide investment funds in addressing climate change by the nonprofit Asset Owners Disclosure Project.
Carbon neutrality. UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA have already exceeded the goal of reaching 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020. To help campuses reach the 2025 goal of carbon neutrality, the UC Office of the President developed a Strategic Planning Framework which will serve as a roadmap.
Efficiency. Across the university, more than 1,000 projects have registered with the Energy Efficiency Partnership program, receiving $82 million in incentive payments and avoiding $28 million in annual energy costs. In 2016 alone, 45 UC projects participated in these programs, earning $4.4 million in incentives. Those projects are projected to avoid $550,000 annually in utility bill costs due to their energy-efficient design strategies.
Food sustainability. Over 20 percent of UC food purchases from 2015-2016 were sourced from sustainable products. 7 of the 10 campuses and 5 medical centers have certified at least one food service facility as a green business.
Water use. Four out of 10 campuses already meet or exceed the 2025 goal to reduce per capita water use by 36 percent. In total, campuses saved enough potable water in 2016 to fill 647 Olympic-size swimming pools.
The University of California hit new sustainability milestones in 2016, but, as UC's 13th Annual Report on Sustainable Practices shows, it's not always easy being green.
The 2016 report, presented to the UC Board of Regents at its January meeting, highlights the progress UC has made over the past year in renewable energy, water conservation, waste reduction, food sustainability and other areas. Along with successes, the report lays out the remaining challenges ahead as UC pushes to reach carbon neutrality as well as its other sustainability goals by 2025.
"We're attacking this challenge on multiple fronts — undertaking basic and applied research, teaching, changing the way we operate, investing in climate change solutions, and being a model of positive change," UC President Janet Napolitano said in the report.
The next generation of leaders
Students coming through the UC system face a world dealing with the impacts of global climate change, so a program launched systemwide in 2016 aims to give them tools to face the new realities — including students that wouldn't normally encounter climate issues in their majors.
"Preparing our students to be leaders in the areas of climate change and environmental sustainability is no longer an option; it is an imperative," said Napolitano, underscoring how UC's sustainability efforts are core to the university's mission.
In the summer of 2016, faculty across the UC system attended workshops to help them develop new material incorporating climate change and sustainability into existing courses. Far from preaching to the choir, the faculty came from fields ranging from literature to health to music. The curriculum workshops included 228 instructors, whose classes could reach more than 11,000 students every year, mostly outside of the sciences.
Solar steps up
The largest challenge facing UC as it tries to go carbon-free is transitioning to energy sources that don't produce greenhouse gas emissions. Many campuses rely on natural gas, which, while often described as a "bridge fuel" on the way to clean energy, is still UC's largest source of direct emissions.
But more and more solar energy is coming into the mix, and 2016 represented a huge step forward for UC. The first of two solar farms in California's Central Valley came online in 2016, part of the largest solar purchase ever made by a U.S. university. The solar farms will supply 80 megawatts of power, or roughly 14 percent of UC's total annual energy. Solar energy is also being generated on the UC campuses themselves, producing more than 36 megawatts, enough to power more than 10,000 homes for a year — and there's more in the works.
"These solar projects continue UC's transition to zero carbon energy supplies, decreasing our reliance on natural gas and other fossil fuels," said David Phillips, associate vice president for Energy and Sustainability for the University of California.
California research, global impact
"California has long been ahead of the curve on climate policy and clean energy, and the University of California has played a key role in the state's success," said Napolitano.
Case in point: In 2016 Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 1383, curbing short-lived climate pollutants, including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane and black carbon. The bill was inspired by research from Scripps Institution of Oceanography atmospheric scientist Veerabhadran "Ram" Ramanathan, who was at Brown's side for the signing.
Ramanathan's research on the oversized impact of short-lived climate pollutants also had global impact in 2016. More than 170 nations agreed to cut the use of HFCs, the climate superpollutant widely used as a refrigerant in air conditioners and refrigerators.
Secretary of State John Kerry described the accord signed in Kigali, Rwanda, as "likely the single most important step we could take at this moment to limit the warming of our planet and limit the warming for generations to come."
Toward a carbon-free UC
Three UC campuses, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA, have already exceeded the goal of reaching 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020, and the university has made great progress with energy efficiency and securing clean electricity, but current efforts won't be sufficient for the university to reach carbon neutrality systemwide by 2025.
To reach the 2025 goal, UC will need to reduce emissions by just over 1 million metric tons of CO2, roughly the equivalent to taking 850,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
UC's systemwide greenhouse gas emissions, with 2014, 2020 and 2025 emissions goals (Click to view larger).
"Reaching carbon neutrality is doable, but it requires a concerted commitment to long-range investments," said Rachael Nava, chief operating officer for the University of California. "We need to scale up the operational changes that bring future energy savings."
For more curated news on climate change science and solutions, sustainability and clean energy, follow UC's Sustainability Office on Twitter at @ClimateUC
2016 UC Annual Report on Sustainable Practices
Climate change hits the classroom
How UC research led to a landmark global deal against superpollutants
Largest university solar power project pushes UC toward carbon neutrality
UC climate experts hail G7 agreement to address short-lived climate pollutants
University of California ranked best university investment fund in addressing climate change

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Home Cone Health Collections Page 001
NewScope [July-August 1979]
®k NEW5C0PE
GREENSBORO, N. C
WESLEY LONG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
A Clearer View
Alternatives After Cataract Surgery
Human vision, a precious sense, is possible through a delicate organ — the eye.
Basically, light enters the eye through the
pupilary opening, travels through the
lens, and arrives at the retina where the
image is formed. The image then is
transmitted to the brain by way of the
optic nerve. The result? We are able to
capture the world around us.
For an unknown reason, the lens, made
of protein and enclosed in a capsule, can
become opaque or hazy. When this occurs, the person has a cataract, and vision
can deteriorate. Oftentimes, with impaired vision caused by a cataract, the
decision needs to be made by the person
whether vision is sufficient for his/her
needs. If there is a need for improved
vision, and if the attending ophthalmologist (a medical doctor specializing in
the treatment of the eye) considers and
approves the person's physical condition,
cataract surgery may be performed. The
operation consists of removing the lens
and the capsule it is contained in. At this
point, the cataract has been eliminated.
(There are several methods of extracting a
cataract.)
A person's vision following cataract
surgery changes and a very strong correction is usually needed. One of three
choices can be made to remedy this situation.
One alternative is cataract glasses.
These are not easily tolerated by some.
They are rather difficult to adjust to for
some people since the glasses produce a
magnification of about 30 percent of objects seen through them. They do allow
good central vision for the wearer but not
as clear peripheral vision. A common
misconception is that these glasses are
very unattractive and not easy to handle.
Nowadays cataract glasses are made of a
lightweight plastic and can be made fashionable. The overwhelming majority of
cataract patients adjust to the glasses
within 3 to 6 months despite the drawbacks.
A second choice is contact lenses.
However, not everyone can learn to
handle them. Contact lenses are not as
visibly obvious as cataract glasses and for
some are more cosmetically pleasing. For
other patients, especially the older age
group, they are difficult to insert and
remove and are therefore not chosen as
often as the other alternatives. They do
restore a natural, undistorted vision and
are perhaps the safest way of achieving
clear vision for the cataract patient.
Thirdly, an intraocular lens implant can
correct vision after cataract surgery. This
is a small man made lens replacing the
natural one removed during cataract extraction. Basically, the use of an intraocular lens implant replaces natural vision
without need of cataract glasses or contact
lenses. Conventional spectacles are usually needed, however.
Intraocular lens implantation, performed  immediately  after  cataract   re
moval or rarely in a later operation, consists of actually inserting a small, plastic
artificial lens inside the eye. The procedure is usually done under local anesthesia but can be done under general.
Held in place with polypropylene supports, the lens is usually effective in restoring a natural and distinct picture for
the person. Some persons feel that an
implanted lens is much better than adjusting to contact lenses or cataract glasses.
Others may prefer to adjust to cataract
glasses or contact lenses and forego possible complications related to the lens
implant and the risk inherent in the additional surgery. The risk of long term
complications of lens implants must also
not be forgotten. As long as the lens is in
the person's eye, problems may occur. It
is the patient's decision whether the benefits of the lens implant offset the risks
or not. Many people with diabetes, iritis,
glaucoma, or various other eye diseases
are not considered candidates for IOL by
most surgeons. Certainly, someone with
one eye is not a candidate.
Within the past month, another means
of restoring vision after cataract surgery
has been approved by the FDA. These are
soft continuous wear contact lenses which
have to be removed and cleaned every
several months and therefore offer benefits of an intraocular lens.
Director of Nurses Retires
A front view of the eye with an intraocular lens
inserted into it.
About eight out of twelve ophthalmologists in Greensboro now perform intraocular lens implantations. Wesley
Long Hospital is equipped to handle this
procedure as are the other Greensboro
hospitals. In order for an ophthalmologist
to perform the procedure, which is not
"particularly complicated," approved
courses on the technique which last two to
three days are taken. No Greensboro
ophthalmologist who has taken the course
has been disapproved as an intraocular
lens surgeon or has not passed the course.
The concept behind this artificial lens
dates back to the mid 1940's after it was
discovered that the plastic making up aircraft windshields used in World War II
(pieces of the windshields sometimes
were blown into the eye during battle)
could be tolerated by the human eye without an adverse reaction. Although the
initial.idea of replacing the natural lens of
Miss Lucille Matthews, Director of
Nurses at Wesley Long Community Hospital, retired on June 22, 1979. This date
marked the end of her 32 year nursing
career at the hospital.
Miss Matthews joined the nursing staff
of Wesley Long in October 1947 when it
was located on North Elm Street. Past
director of nurses Virginia Williamson
recalls hiring Miss Matthews, "One of
the best days I had at the hospital (Wesley
Long) was the day I hired Lucy Matthews." Matthews worked as a floor
nurse and nursing supervisor afterwhich
she assumed the position of Director of
Nurses in 1952.
Bom in Wallace, North Carolina, she
attended James Walker Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Wilmington,
North Carolina and graduated as a R.N. in
1936. This fulfilled her lifelong desire to
become a nurse. Since the age of five
when she had a tonsillectomy, Matthew's
ambition was to become a nurse and as
she put it, "just a plain nurse."
After working as a registered nurse at
Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, she spent two years at Indian River
Hospital in Vero Beach, Florida. Joining
the United States Army Nurse Corps in
1941, Miss Matthews was first stationed
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She was a
member of the 55th station hospital division and was later stationed in North Africa and Italy during the Second World
War. In Africa, Matthews, along with 28
other nurses, set up the 55th station hospital in Kairouan to care for the wounded.
The 55th division then traveled by ship
to Italy. Soon after the ship docked and
the medical personnel were on their way
to Florence by trucks, Germans bombed
the ship and sank it. All medical supplies
on board were destroyed causing the crew
to secure supplies at a nearby general
hospital in order to set up the 55th station
hospital in Florence.
Miss Matthews returned to Fort Bragg
and was discharged from the army in
1946. She worked at McGuire Veterans
Hospital in Richmond, Virginia following
her army duty. After applying to several
hospitals in North Carolina, Miss Matthews chose Wesley Long Hospital because of, she relates, its smallness and
personable staff.
The staff of Wesley Long regrets that
Miss Matthews has left, but is grateful for
the many years of dedicated service she
rendered.
the eye with an artificial one was a promising one, the first implants caused problems. One such problem was the reaction
of the eye to impurities in the plastics.
Improper fitting and positioning of the
lens inside the eye was another weak
During the 1970's, new methods of
inserting the lens and new lenses cropped
up worldwide. In some cases, after the
lens had been implanted, patients experienced eye irritation and deteriorating vision. Some such problems were serious
enough that all vision or even the eye
itself was lost.
The Food and Drug Administration of
the federal government intervened at this
time and called lens implants to a halt
until the materials and techniques used in
the procedure were refined. In its effort to
monitor lens implants, the FDA began a
program to register and certify all sur
geons who had proper training to do this
procedure and to follow closely for two
years patients who had had an implant.
The purpose of this study is to determine
which lenses and surgical techniques are
the safest and will best stand the test of
time. As a result of the study, it is possible
that the use of only certain lenses will be
allowed or that lens implantation could
altogether be stopped if the results are
unfavorable.
It is important to note that an intraocular lens implant is not a cure all for
patients who have undergone cataract
surgery. Even if the patient's condition
has been carefully studied, complications
can occur during surgery, weeks, and
even years later. Any patient considering
cataract surgery and/or a lens implant
should be fully informed by the surgeon
of advantages and disadvantages related
to both procedures.
Title NewScope [July-August 1979]
Creator (group/organization) Wesley Long Community Hospital
Subject headings Wesley Long Community Hospital (Greensboro, N.C.)
Description An issue of NewScope, a newsletter from Wesley Long Community Hospital
Original format newsletters
Original publisher Greensboro, N.C. : Wesley Long Community Hospital
Contributing institution Cone Health Medical Library
Contact Information Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital
http://www.gahec.org/library/
Source collection Cone 10081 Robert L. Phillips Collection, 1890s-2003
Series/grouping Research and Resources
Folder 8: [Newscope]
Finding aid link https://www.gahec.org/uploads/Inventory-of-the-Robert-L-Phillips-Collection-2018.pdf
Rights statement http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional rights information IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse.
Object ID Cone_10081.011.008.009
Sponsor LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html
Transcript ®k NEW5C0PE GREENSBORO, N. C WESLEY LONG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL JULY-AUGUST, 1979 A Clearer View Alternatives After Cataract Surgery Human vision, a precious sense, is possible through a delicate organ — the eye. Basically, light enters the eye through the pupilary opening, travels through the lens, and arrives at the retina where the image is formed. The image then is transmitted to the brain by way of the optic nerve. The result? We are able to capture the world around us. For an unknown reason, the lens, made of protein and enclosed in a capsule, can become opaque or hazy. When this occurs, the person has a cataract, and vision can deteriorate. Oftentimes, with impaired vision caused by a cataract, the decision needs to be made by the person whether vision is sufficient for his/her needs. If there is a need for improved vision, and if the attending ophthalmologist (a medical doctor specializing in the treatment of the eye) considers and approves the person's physical condition, cataract surgery may be performed. The operation consists of removing the lens and the capsule it is contained in. At this point, the cataract has been eliminated. (There are several methods of extracting a cataract.) A person's vision following cataract surgery changes and a very strong correction is usually needed. One of three choices can be made to remedy this situation. One alternative is cataract glasses. These are not easily tolerated by some. They are rather difficult to adjust to for some people since the glasses produce a magnification of about 30 percent of objects seen through them. They do allow good central vision for the wearer but not as clear peripheral vision. A common misconception is that these glasses are very unattractive and not easy to handle. Nowadays cataract glasses are made of a lightweight plastic and can be made fashionable. The overwhelming majority of cataract patients adjust to the glasses within 3 to 6 months despite the drawbacks. A second choice is contact lenses. However, not everyone can learn to handle them. Contact lenses are not as visibly obvious as cataract glasses and for some are more cosmetically pleasing. For other patients, especially the older age group, they are difficult to insert and remove and are therefore not chosen as often as the other alternatives. They do restore a natural, undistorted vision and are perhaps the safest way of achieving clear vision for the cataract patient. Thirdly, an intraocular lens implant can correct vision after cataract surgery. This is a small man made lens replacing the natural one removed during cataract extraction. Basically, the use of an intraocular lens implant replaces natural vision without need of cataract glasses or contact lenses. Conventional spectacles are usually needed, however. Intraocular lens implantation, performed immediately after cataract re moval or rarely in a later operation, consists of actually inserting a small, plastic artificial lens inside the eye. The procedure is usually done under local anesthesia but can be done under general. Held in place with polypropylene supports, the lens is usually effective in restoring a natural and distinct picture for the person. Some persons feel that an implanted lens is much better than adjusting to contact lenses or cataract glasses. Others may prefer to adjust to cataract glasses or contact lenses and forego possible complications related to the lens implant and the risk inherent in the additional surgery. The risk of long term complications of lens implants must also not be forgotten. As long as the lens is in the person's eye, problems may occur. It is the patient's decision whether the benefits of the lens implant offset the risks or not. Many people with diabetes, iritis, glaucoma, or various other eye diseases are not considered candidates for IOL by most surgeons. Certainly, someone with one eye is not a candidate. Within the past month, another means of restoring vision after cataract surgery has been approved by the FDA. These are soft continuous wear contact lenses which have to be removed and cleaned every several months and therefore offer benefits of an intraocular lens. The End of an Era Director of Nurses Retires A front view of the eye with an intraocular lens inserted into it. About eight out of twelve ophthalmologists in Greensboro now perform intraocular lens implantations. Wesley Long Hospital is equipped to handle this procedure as are the other Greensboro hospitals. In order for an ophthalmologist to perform the procedure, which is not "particularly complicated," approved courses on the technique which last two to three days are taken. No Greensboro ophthalmologist who has taken the course has been disapproved as an intraocular lens surgeon or has not passed the course. The concept behind this artificial lens dates back to the mid 1940's after it was discovered that the plastic making up aircraft windshields used in World War II (pieces of the windshields sometimes were blown into the eye during battle) could be tolerated by the human eye without an adverse reaction. Although the initial.idea of replacing the natural lens of Matthews Miss Lucille Matthews, Director of Nurses at Wesley Long Community Hospital, retired on June 22, 1979. This date marked the end of her 32 year nursing career at the hospital. Miss Matthews joined the nursing staff of Wesley Long in October 1947 when it was located on North Elm Street. Past director of nurses Virginia Williamson recalls hiring Miss Matthews, "One of the best days I had at the hospital (Wesley Long) was the day I hired Lucy Matthews." Matthews worked as a floor nurse and nursing supervisor afterwhich she assumed the position of Director of Nurses in 1952. Bom in Wallace, North Carolina, she attended James Walker Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Wilmington, North Carolina and graduated as a R.N. in 1936. This fulfilled her lifelong desire to become a nurse. Since the age of five when she had a tonsillectomy, Matthew's ambition was to become a nurse and as she put it, "just a plain nurse." After working as a registered nurse at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, she spent two years at Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, Florida. Joining the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1941, Miss Matthews was first stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She was a member of the 55th station hospital division and was later stationed in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War. In Africa, Matthews, along with 28 other nurses, set up the 55th station hospital in Kairouan to care for the wounded. The 55th division then traveled by ship to Italy. Soon after the ship docked and the medical personnel were on their way to Florence by trucks, Germans bombed the ship and sank it. All medical supplies on board were destroyed causing the crew to secure supplies at a nearby general hospital in order to set up the 55th station hospital in Florence. Miss Matthews returned to Fort Bragg and was discharged from the army in 1946. She worked at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond, Virginia following her army duty. After applying to several hospitals in North Carolina, Miss Matthews chose Wesley Long Hospital because of, she relates, its smallness and personable staff. The staff of Wesley Long regrets that Miss Matthews has left, but is grateful for the many years of dedicated service she rendered. the eye with an artificial one was a promising one, the first implants caused problems. One such problem was the reaction of the eye to impurities in the plastics. Improper fitting and positioning of the lens inside the eye was another weak point. During the 1970's, new methods of inserting the lens and new lenses cropped up worldwide. In some cases, after the lens had been implanted, patients experienced eye irritation and deteriorating vision. Some such problems were serious enough that all vision or even the eye itself was lost. The Food and Drug Administration of the federal government intervened at this time and called lens implants to a halt until the materials and techniques used in the procedure were refined. In its effort to monitor lens implants, the FDA began a program to register and certify all sur geons who had proper training to do this procedure and to follow closely for two years patients who had had an implant. The purpose of this study is to determine which lenses and surgical techniques are the safest and will best stand the test of time. As a result of the study, it is possible that the use of only certain lenses will be allowed or that lens implantation could altogether be stopped if the results are unfavorable. It is important to note that an intraocular lens implant is not a cure all for patients who have undergone cataract surgery. Even if the patient's condition has been carefully studied, complications can occur during surgery, weeks, and even years later. Any patient considering cataract surgery and/or a lens implant should be fully informed by the surgeon of advantages and disadvantages related to both procedures.


text:
The Work/Life Balancing Act
« Working Mom Takes a Risk to Improve her Work Life Balance | Main | Want romance? How to snag a last minute babysitter »
Do successful businesswomen struggle with romance?
Is it more difficult for high achieving women to find success in love? I set out to find that out.
In a conversation with Osmara Vindel, a Miami business professional, she told me that she is divorced and has been dating for three years. She says she came to discover her struggles in relationships were about her, not he men in ther life. She says marriage and her dating life were challenging until she led her guard down, made romance a priority, and allowed herself to get out of business mode and feel comfortable with a man. Now, one month into a new relationship, she says all is going well. With Valentine's Day approaching, maybe its time for all of us to think about our work life balance and whether we give romance the priority it deserves.
Here's my column from today's Miami Herald. I'd love to hear your thoughts....
Whether they're dating or married, high-earning women need to leave work mode at the office.
Maya Ezratti, left, is a relationship coach and is coaching Suzette Diaz, right, a client.
MARICE COHN BAND / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
By CINDY KRISCHER GOODMAN
While on a blind date, Alexandra Arguelles found herself behaving as if she were interviewing a candidate for a job.
"I caught myself asking him question after question and trying to control everything." Afterward, she says she felt as if she had been at a business dinner.
"It's not easy for me to be laid back," says Arguelles, a 42-year-old sales executive at a travel IT company in Miami. "But on my next date, I'm going to try."
Women have made huge strides in business. We have climbed to the top of companies, built million-dollar businesses and forged into traditional male professions. We've positioned ourselves as some of the most powerful voices in politics and on the Internet. Yet, when it comes to romantic relationships, we still struggle to make it happen in love.
IT'S US
Ask the growing army of high-earning women and they will say men are intimidated by their professional and financial success, making it difficult to date and marry. But relationship experts say we have it wrong. It's not them; it's us.
"Today's women just don't seem to understand you have to leave the office at the office," says Maya Ezratti, a relationship coach and owner of Rewarding Relationships. "You can't treat your husband, boyfriend or date like an employee."
Fewer Americans are married today than at any point in at last 50 years, according to a 2011 Pew Research study. The causes and consequences are the subject of much debate. But what is clear is that as more women have gained economic control over their lives, they need to switch modes when it comes to relationship dynamics.
John Gray, author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, says keeping romance alive in the age of female empowerment takes getting in touch with your feminine attributes: "In the workplace, to be successful, women have to be independent, self reliant, focused on solving problems and managing people. Outside the office, those attributes are romance killers."
In dating, Gray says a woman comes across as more attractive when she puts out a vibe she is happy and that a man can make her even happier. "Men want a job. They need to be needed," he says. But a successful women's natural instinct may be that she can do it all herself. "Be in touch with the part of yourself that is looking to have someone in your life that would lighten your load, and be open to receiving what he has to offer."
In Miami, Ezratti coaches businesswomen to change their approach: "A lot of women are pursing romance like business."
First, she advises they lose their pant suit and show up in more trendy, flirty attire. Next, she suggests they let go of being competitive. "Some women have no problem ripping men to shreds to prove their intelligence. No guy wants to go out on a date and feel like a schmuck. You don't' have to prove anything; the quiet one wins."
David Berry, a 28-year-old Miami writer and author of a dating blog, affirms that most of his single male friends are scared to approach women who are rich, successful, brilliant and beautiful. They assume the women won't be interested. "We have fears approaching women anyway. Now add in that they out earn us or drive a nicer car, and we start to doubt our ability to impress them."
Berry says a few gestures by women can make a world of difference: Smile. Show passion for what you do. Indicate a willingness to break off chunks of time for a man. Most important, he says, men want a woman to show her soft side. "I think a lot of women fight for equality in their professional lives and assume that it's a negative to allow yourself to be vulnerable when it comes to an emotional relationship. It's not."
Successful women say the challenge comes in finding a man they consider a truly equal partner, someone who contributes financially and emotionally. "In this recession, I've seen many men who see me just as a meal ticket," a female senior level executive explains. "I hide my career and income from men on my dating profiles. It just makes me a target."
Arguelles, the IT sales executive, admits she feels the same way and has become pickier. "I need someone on equal footing, someone with a steady income who is ambitious and strives for goals. Because I'm self sufficient, I don't feel the need to settle." This could be an increasing challenge because men disproportionately have suffered an income drop during the recession.
But it is not just dating that represents a challenge for high-achieving women. Married women say they struggle with romance too.
"I have clients who are powerful and successful women. Everything they touch turns to gold except their relationship," says Gladys Diaz, owner of Heart's Desire International. "Their businesses are booming and their marriages are falling apart."
Relationship coach Gladys Diaz providing tips to business women!
Posted by Cindy Goodman 02/13/2013 at 10:57 AM in Current Affairs, Gender Equity, Women Executives, Workplace | Permalink
Work/Life Balancing Act
Cindy Krischer Goodman
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A Glentunnel resident fighting permanent chlorination in parts of Malvern has been asked to pay for further information he seeks on the issue.
The district council has told retired farmer Brian Thompson it is estimated he will have to pay $608 for it to carry out three Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act requests he made between June 28 and July 1.
It is estimated it will take the district council eight hours of staff time to collate and provide the information on the requests.
Because the first hour of preparing the response is free, the cost of the staff time works out to be about $86.8 per hour.
Mr Thompson said he refused to pay the money.
He said he has been trying to gather information and reports to have a better understanding of the history and risks in the water scheme.
"The public wants something done about this. I asked them if 25 people sent in one question each if that was all right," he said.
But a district council spokesman told Selwyn Times between April 12 and July 13, Mr Thompson has lodged 25 requests on the chlorination.
It has not charged Mr Thompson previously.
"We have been very co-operative in working with Brian with his requests," he said.
Recent requests were for a list of original ratepayers who were members of the Malvern Hills Water Scheme, a copy of all contamination breaches of the Hartleys Rd scheme in the past three years and records of illegal connections to the scheme.
Mayor Sam Broughton suggested the Malvern Community Board looks at using their discretionary funds to support the requests.
But Mr Thompson said it didn't "rest well" with him and the money was supposed to be for the community.
The district council confirmed it permanently chlorinated the Sheffield-Waddington water supplies in June and the Malvern Hills Hartleys Road supplies this month and the next.
District council asset manager Murray Washington said answering these requests has a significant cost to staff in terms of time being taken away from core tasks, as well as to the ratepayer.
He said the district council works to be as open as possible and does not stand in the way of releasing information to ratepayers and stakeholders.
Under the Ministry of Justice, Charging Guidelines for Official Information Act 1982 Requests, if information can be gathered within an hour there cannot be a charge, while up to 20 pages of photocopying is also free.


text:
Metro suspends fare collections
Mar 23rd, 2020
Among other things.
Transit in Houston will be free starting Monday and passengers will use the rear door to board and exit buses to limit exposure to drivers and other riders, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials announced Friday.
The changes are aimed at providing some social distance for passengers and employees while also offering some savings for Houstonians facing job and wage losses during the pandemic-induced economic downturn.
"Everyone is facing economic hardships, so we are going to adjust the system," Metro CEO Tom Lambert said.
While necessary for many to access jobs, crowded buses and trains complicate efforts for riders to keep a distance between themselves and others as medical experts advise to reduce the spread of the coronavirus or the COVID-19 illness it causes. Though Metro has seen sharp declines in ridership, it remains fully functional, agency leaders said.
Generally, only the back doors of local buses will be used so fewer people have to walk from the front of the bus to a seat, Lambert said. Anyone who needs a ramp or lower step to enter and exit the bus still will be able to use the front door, he said.
Dropping fares is one of several changes to Metro's operations in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Along many high-use routes, Metro has added buses and put placards on seats encouraging people to distance themselves from other passengers.
You can see the full press release from Metro here, and their coronavirus resource page is here. San Antonio's VIA has taken the same step. Metro is also running more buses on certain routes to help people maintain social distancing. There's still a lot of people that have to go to work, and they deserve all the care we can give them. Like traffic in general, Metro's ridership is down at this time, and they will have to deal with the financial fallout from that when this is over, but in the meantime they're still providing service. I'm glad for that.
Masks for Metro confirmed
Metro's long road
Metro moving forward with its construction plans
Posted in: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Tagged: buses · coronavirus · Houston · light rail · Metro · San Antonio · Tom Lambert
← Weekend link dump for March 22 Worrying about the restaurants →
Metro slows its roll on system improvements – Off the Kuff says:
[…] target opening date is now July, though Lord knows what anything means at this time. Metro has suspended fare collection for now, in part because people need all the help they can get during this crisis, and in part […]


Himanshu and his team are responsible for accelerated delivery of Citi's Mobile first strategy and driving digital channels to next generation technology capabilities. Responsible for Development and Deployment of Internet and Mobile banking platform and API/ ESB applications for Asia and EMEA Consumer Business. The primary focus for this role is application development, deployment of technology based business critical solutions, standardization of platforms & processes, managing large teams in diverse geographies, off shoring & outsourcing, vendor management.
Himanshu joined Citi in 2003 as a Manager – Application Development in Business Systems Team of CitiFinancial, India. Since then, he has had many stints within Consumer Business Technology in India and Singapore. He has extensive experience in Product Development, Project Management and Implementation. Product/Solution design using various technologies. He leverages his knowledge of Citi's systems and technology to deliver solutions to clients.
He holds a Bachelors Degree from the Delhi University specializing in Computer Science, Mathematics and Science & a Masters of Business Administration from Institute of Management and Technology, Ghaziabad, India (I.M.T.) specializing in Marketing and Technology.


Distinctive scenes of food harming and animal diseases that make the news features have acknowledged broadened open attention to food quality and security. We give total services that are unequivocally made for those in the Food and Beverage dealing with industry. Our developed pros will overview your office and consider a genuine pest control framework that meets your great needs. The food service industry has a high affectability towards pests with a zero assurance from pest movement, One pest is sufficient to hurt notoriety and cause extreme harm for any food business.
Comfort is another point of view identified with the Restaurant business, where bothering pests like flies are discomforting similarly as an indication of poor sanitation. Despite how incredible your food is or how financially it is evaluated, a rodent in the eatery or a cockroach in the sauce can send your burger joint into emergency. Total Pest Elimination is here to help you through the voyage of taking out pests.


text:
Title: The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (April 21, 1927)
Publication details: New Zealand Government Railways Department, Wellington
Digital publication kindly authorised by:
Toll NZ
Part of: The Railways Magazine
The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (April 21, 1927)
Canadian National Railways.
The annual report of the Canadian national Railways shows that their net earnings for 1926 totalled 48,225,000 dollars. These figures represent an increase of 44 per cent. Over the figures for 1925.
"Our Beautiful Island."
Mr. W. Helms, a recent visitor to New Zealand from Sweden, has written to Mr. E. P. Moir (Acting Secretary to the Railway Board) thanking him for the assistance rendered in making his stay in this country so pleasant. On his return to Copenhagen Mr. Helms gave a private lecture (illustrated with lantern slides) on what he describes as our "beautiful islands."
Referring to his audience, Mr. Helms continues, "I showed them your interesting North Island with its thermal wonders, and the south Island so full of beauties; Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu, Waitomo Caves, Mt. Cook and region, Paradise and Christchurch; the Wanganui River and Mt. Egmont in the North, and Milford sound in the South. Never had they seen such beautiful photos, illustrating such beautiful country; that was the verdict."
A Good Transport Performance.
The memorable schools demonstrations in connection with the Royal visit owed much of their success to the arrangements made by the Department in the conveyance of many thousands of children from the country districts to the cities. The number of children brought in by rail for the Christchurch demonstration was 6,667. Of this number 1,016 entrained at stations between Lyttelton and Christchurch, 2,825 north of Christchurch, 699 south of Christchurch, 1,419 on the southbridge and Little River lines, and 708 on the Midland line.
The special trains arrived right up to schedule time, the children being all assembled at the show grounds at addington before 10:30 a.m. After the demonstration no less than 15,000 children were conveyed by rail in one hour from the Show Ground to Christchurch. As every child carried a coloured flag and every flag was held out of a carriage window, one of the most effective—although impromptu—decorative displays was seen when each successive trainload pulled out, flanked along both sides of its whole length by the gaily fluttering flags of the children. The country children were returned to their homes in the afternoon in special carriages attached to the ordinary trains. Despite the heavy demands made on the traffic and locomotive branches no hitch of any kind occurred in the transport arrangements.
Railway "Family" Tickets.
The "family" concession ticket issuable upon the New Zealand Railways, has, so far as we can discover, no counterpart on any other railway or transport system. It represents a genuine effort to reduce the handicap of large families when travelling. Inaugurated under the recently revised Tariff, it has proved a decided boon, in all parts of the Dominion, to those able to take advantage of it.
The "Ashburton guardian" quotes the following striking example of the working of the family concession ticket scheme. "This occurred in Ashburton the other day, when a woman and nine children traveled to Christchurch (53 miles) and back for 34 shillings, the amount of three ordinary fares. Such is the scope of the scheme that the father of the family could have traveled with then without any further expense. Had it been excursion time the tickets would have cost 24 shillings only."


text:
Who Asks Paul Ryan the Tough Climate Question? The 7-Year-Old /
Who Asks Paul Ryan the Tough Climate Question? The 7-Year-Old
Grist.org
Greta Jochem
Midway through the House speaker's weekly briefing on Thursday, a young voice from the audience piped up and asked Ryan, "The earth is warming up. What should we do?"
What was she doing there? It was Take Your Child to Work Day, so journalists brought their kids, some of whom grilled Ryan on gun control and the national debt. The global warming question came from the daughter of ClimateWire reporter Scott Waldman. Kids these days, taking action on climate!
.@SpeakerRyan got a rare question on climate change today. From my 7-yr-old daughter. Here's what he said. https://t.co/9JFCqMpmwg
— Scott Waldman (@Scott Waldman) 1524763694.0
Ryan's response: Technology will save us. He says we have "clean" energy that's "abundant" and "local," like natural gas, and we need more incentives and smart techies to innovate further.
Sure, natural gas is cleaner than coal, emitting half as much carbon dioxide, but relying on natural gas won't stop the planet from the dangerous prospect of warming 2 degrees Celsius. Plus, some estimates show the United States has only enough natural gas to last us 80-some years.
The surprising thing in all this is that Ryan didn't outright deny climate change, and his response implies that we have to act on it. That's a step up from his darker denier past saying that it's not an issue worth addressing.


What came first, the chicken or the egg? If you're not a biologist or a farmer then the answer is pretty much irrelevant (and we don't really have an answer). But, we do have an answer for those of you who are at a crossroads between redesigning your website or implementing inbound marketing and that answer is yes. Yes you should redesign your website and yes you should implement inbound marketing but like the chicken and the egg; which one comes first?
What came first? Inbound or the redesign?
Neither. Inbound marketing and web redesign have a bit of a symbiotic relationship meaning that neither can succeed without some support from the other. A redesigned website without inbound marketing is like a cheetah without teeth or claws (you might catch your customers but you're going to have a difficult time holding onto them). You could also try taking the metrics from your inbound marketing strategy and use them to shape your website but that can take a lot of time, time you and your company may not have. So, what approach do we recommend?
And that's exactly the approach you should take with both your inbound marketing strategy and web redesign. Doing both at the same time can save you precious time and money as your web team will get to explore the ins and outs of your inbound strategy with you and then find ways to seamlessly integrate that plan with your new site. By not working both elements in simultaneously you will expose both you and your web team to major problems that could be fairly pricey in the future. Think of it as if your website is a house and you're the contractor. You might do a great job on the exterior (your website) but without a solid foundation (your inbound marketing strategy) the house will eventually crumble and become yet another website lying in ruin on the vast plains of the internet. So, when you're thinking about redesigning your site and implementing a new inbound strategy pretend you're building a house and work inside out. Your inbound strategy should inform your site and your site should empower that plan. To do that you're going to have to create an inbound plan, talk about it to your web team, put it on your site and launch both inbound and the redesign at the same time. Doing so will save you time, money and a lot of future headaches. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Fat Guy team.


text:
The Grade Appeal Committee is organized by the VP of Academic Affairs. It is made up of ad hoc committee members comprising of faculty.
You may only appeal the final grade for a course. You may appeal if:
You are able to demonstrate that an inappropriate grade was assigned as a result of prejudice, or mechanical error, or inconsistent grading as assigned to other students.
You wish to challenge the reduction of a grade for alleged academic dishonesty.
Filing an Informal Grade Appeal
Contact your instructor to request a grade change. If this step fails to resolve the issue, then follow the steps below.
Formal Attempt
Prepare and submit a written appeal, no later than 15 calendar days after the start of the following regular semester to the VPAA.
It will be reviewed by the Grade Appeals Committee formed by the VPAA within 10 days to determine if a hearing is needed.
If needed, a hearing will be scheduled within 15 days after notification is given to both parties.
A written decision is sent to both parties within 3 days of the hearing conclusion.
Both parties have 6 days to appeal the decision in writing to the Grade Appeals Committee.
The Grade Appeals Committee will review the petition and make a final decision.


text:
Hungary Honours Late Apple Founder with Bronze Statue
Late Founder of Apple, Steve Jobs
In remembrance of the late Steve Jobs, the founder and chairman of Hungarian software maker Graphisoft SE, Gabor Bojar, has commissioned a bronze statue of the Apple co-founder.
The statue, crafted by Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth, shows Jobs as he is gesturing while he lectures or talks.
The bronze statue is 220 centimeters tall, weighs 180 kilos and will be unveiled on December 21. Sculptor Toth has worked on the statue for the last few months.
Bojar commissioned the statue as he feels he owes a lot to Jobs and wanted to commemorate his legacy to the world.
"We believe, Graphisoft and I believe myself as his students, so we learnt a lot from him. We learnt from him what does it mean: information technology with human face. I met him personally almost 30 years ago and it very much inspired us. And somehow we wanted to express our appreciation for his contribution to the development of Graphisoft and to the successes of Graphisoft, and I believe to the successes of the world because information technology changes the entire world and he changed the information technology giving it a human face," Bojar said.
Toth said he was honoured and challenged by the commission. He watched a film about Jobs and observed his character and movements as he created the concept for the statue.
"The concept was that we should only have a dynamic statue and not a static one. I watched footage of his lectures, he was an excellent lecturer shown in the reactions of his audience. He moved dynamically all the time, gestures were very important for him, and he always maintained contact with his audience," Toth said.
The statue will be erected in the Graphisoft Park that hosts several IT companies, including Graphisoft. Graphisoft is known globally for its architectural design software ArchiCAD.
Apple has supported the Hungarian company since 1984, when Jobs met them at the annual CEBIT expo in Hanover, Germany. Bojar said that to a large extent, Graphisoft ArchiCAD owes its global success to Jobs. Apple gave Graphisoft cash and computers at a time when Graphisoft was a young company with very limited resources and it provided access to global markets.
Apart from the company's personal attachment to Jobs, Bojar also believes that Hungary has a special flair for honouring IT achievements given its rich science culture and achievements.
Many Noble prize winners, among them Janos Neumann who is regarded as the father of the modern computer, were born and educated in Hungary. Graphisoft co-founded an award dedicated to the math teacher, Laszlo Ratz, as of several of famous Hungarian scientists such as Neumann.
The award is given to outstanding math teachers each year.
Bojar believes Jobs' achievement for information technology is truly revolutionary.
"The new information technology, we can call it digital information technology made this huge amount of information accessible, which is a new revolution in the human history. Within that revolution as within the revolution of the writing there was an important point, the Gutenberg at the printing, which made writing accessible to the masses similarly to the personal computers made the IT accessible for the masses. So the personal computer itself is the one which is the invention of Steve Jobs, this is the one which can be compared to Gutenberg."
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text:
Q: Поиск соответствий в файле со списком Есть файл .txt. В нем должен быть список с двумя столбцами: в первом - mac адреса, во втором - имена компьютеров. С помощью python-скрипта необходимо получить mac адрес машины, на которой был запущен скрипт и определить какому имени компьютера он соответствует.
Также, подскажите, пожалуйста, как следует организовать этот список в файле?
A: Вы по маку машины, на которой запущен скрипт, хотите определить имя машины?
Для получения мака можно воспользоваться библиотекой netifaces https://pypi.python.org/pypi/netifaces
Мак интерфейса:
import netifaces
netifces.ifaddress('eth0')[netifaces.AF_LINK]['addr']

Имя хоста:
import socket
socket.gethostname()

Если нужно работать именно со списком маков из файла то:
macs_hosts_file = open('macs_hosts.txt', 'r')
mymac='01:23:45:67:89:AB'

mac_host_dict = {}
for line in macs_hosts_file:
    mac, hostname = line.split(' ')
    mac_host_dict[mac] = hostname

if mymac in mac_host_dict:
    print 'MAC is: %s\nHostname is: %s' % (mymac, mac_host_dict[mac])

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate is rangebound today and is currently trading at around CA$1.7094 on the inter-bank market.
The Pound (GBP) has steadied against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) after Prime Minister Theresa May survived the no-confidence vote against her government last night – by just a slim majority of 19 votes.
Today will see cross-party talks in which May will discuss the next steps for Brexit, although Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has demanded that a 'no deal' Brexit be rejected first.
Pound investors were hopeful that May had not ruled out an extension of Article 50, following reports that the EU would also be willing to extend the leaving date of 29 March.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) investors, meanwhile, will be awaiting today's publication of the ADP Employment Change figures for December, with any signs of an increase potentially restoring some confidence in the 'Loonie'.
The Canadian oil industry is continuing to face problems over pipeline issue, with a recent poll from the Angus Reid Institute showing that six-in-ten Canadians see the lack of pipeline capacity constitutes a 'crisis'.
With oil being Canada's biggest export, signs of mounting problems in the oil industry are likely to cause downside pressure for CAD exchange rates.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) has struggled to make any gains on the Pound (GBP) after yesterday's publication of Canada's motor vehicle sales for November, which showed a fall to 149.2k, continuing a longer term downwards trend.
GBP/CAD traders were left unmoved by some bullish comments from Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday, who remained optimistic about the economy after the strongest jobs numbers in 40 years.
The Canadian Dollar remains sensitive to signs of slowing global growth, and as Canada has a free trade deal with the EU, Brexit remains an influential factor for some 'Loonie' traders.
Pound (GBP) investors, meanwhile, will be looking ahead to tomorrow's publication of the UK retail sales figures for December which are expected to decrease – potentially seeing Sterling fall against the Canadian Dollar.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) traders are also awaiting the release of the Bank of Canada's yearly Core Consumer Price Index figures for December tomorrow, with any unexpectedly robust inflation likely offering support to the 'Loonie'.
The GBP/CAD exchange rate will remain sensitive to further Brexit developments this week, with May continuing cross-party debates to formulate a new Brexit plan.
Nevertheless, if the EU remains steadfast on the issue of renegotiations, the Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate could suffer.


The Internet Arcade: In-browser Green Beret emulator. Also 900 other games.
Introducing: The Internet Arcade. Not content with provide the global treasure (and source of endless fun and fascination) that is the Wayback Machine, The Internet Archive has just unveiled its collection of in-browser arcade games. Over 900 of them and counting.
OK, it's been a couple of weeks since I posted. That's partly down to family life and teething children sapping my will to live energy but mostly down to Minecraft. back in the pre-beta days I was pretty addicted to it but once the map I'd invested all my time in became increasingly incompatible with the game I drifted away from it more and more, and until recently I hadn't in a couple of years.
Until I heard of Captive Minecraft.
Sometimes it's the little things that pique your interest, tickle your funny bone or prompt a sudden perception test. In the case of SanctuaryRPG the little thing was the phrase "Mechanized dragon". Any game that has that as a boss fight gets two automatic thumbs up in my book. Or talons as the case may be.
SanctuaryRPG is part Nethack, part Final Fantasy, all text. The website is immediately arresting, probably the slickest, most advanced-looking text-based site I've ever seen. The soundtrack by Rafael Langoni Smith matches perfectly, a wonderful throwback to the best of the NES. Worth a listen and worth some of your gold pieces and/or credits.


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LONDON, March 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite positive performance of main stock indices and a decrease of volatility in many markets, ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and trade issues continue to dampen investor enthusiasm, resulting in the number of IPOs in the first three months of 2019 (YTD 2019) falling to 199 globally and US$13.1b in proceeds. This is a 41% decrease in deals and a 74% decrease in proceeds from YTD 2018. The technology, health care and industrials sectors were the most prolific producers of IPOs globally in YTD 2019, together accounting for 101 IPOs (51% of global IPO by deal numbers) and raising US$5.4b altogether (42% of global proceeds). By proceeds, technology was the strongest sector with US$2.1b raised (16% of global proceeds). These and other findings were published today in the EY quarterly report, Global IPO trends: Q1 2019.
"While Q1 is usually a quiet IPO quarter across regions, in 2019 we've seen IPO markets sent into a cautious wait-and-see mode as a number of factors collide. The dense fog of ongoing geopolitical tensions, trade issues among the US, China and Europe, as well as uncertainty as to how the UK will leave the European Union, slowed down IPO activity in all regions. As we look to Q2 2019, we only need a successful mega IPO or unicorn from the robust IPO pipeline for the fog of uncertainty to clear and global IPO markets to spring into bloom toward the second half of 2019."
Americas IPO activity fell sharply in YTD 2019, with deal proceeds decreasing 83% to US$3.3b and deal numbers falling by 44% to 31 IPOs, compared with Q1 2018.
The US accounted for 65% of Americas' IPOs (20) and 92% by proceeds (US$3.0b). However, in the US, market volatility caused foreign issuers to choose to postpone their listings. Only four cross-border IPOs listed in the US in Q1 2019, in comparison with 15 companies in Q1 2018.
The NASDAQ ranked second among the top exchange by proceeds globally in YTD 2019, raising US$2.5b or 19.1% of global proceeds, while Canada's Toronto Main Market and Venture Exchange saw 5 IPOs, which raised US$188m in Q1 2019, and Chile raised $69m via a real estate IPO.
"It was a quiet quarter across the Americas, partly because of the US Government shutdown, where the lion's share of Americas IPO activity occurs, and partly as a result of different geopolitical uncertainties affecting other markets. However, as the dust begins to settle following a quarter of uncertainties, we expect IPO activity to return to more normal levels in Q2 2019."
A lull in IPO activity also spread across the Asia-Pacific region in Q1 2019 as global economic uncertainty and geopolitical issues prevailed. Ongoing trade tensions between China and the US in particular weighed heavily on market sentiment and the region saw a decline of 24% by deal numbers (126) and 30% by proceeds (US$8.4b) versus Q1 2018.
However, Asia-Pacific continued to dominate global IPO activity in Q1 2019, with 63% of global IPOs and 64% by proceeds. This region accounted for eight of the top 10 exchanges globally by deal number and six exchanges by proceeds. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange ranked first by both volume and proceeds respectively, among the top 10 global exchanges.
Mainland China saw 30 IPOs raising US$3.7b in Q1 2019. Although these numbers are lower when compared with Q1 2018, they are notably up from Q4 2018, suggesting the Mainland China IPO market may be showing signs of a recovery.
Japan continued to demonstrate strength in its IPO markets with Q1 2019 numbers exceeding those from Q1 2018 (23 IPOs in Q1 2019 versus 18 IPOs in Q1 2018). Further, Japan's exchanges (Tokyo, MOTHERS and JASDAQ) ranked number two among the top 10 exchanges by volume.
"Ongoing trade issues between the US and China continue to have an effect on IPO market sentiment across Asia-Pacific. But with exchanges across the region recovering from equity market corrections in Q4 2018, there are signs of a recovery in IPO activity ahead. Post-IPO performance levels are another key factor to watch in determining the recovery speed of IPO activity levels in 2019."
In EMEIA, deal volumes and proceeds were down substantially from Q1 2018 with EMEIA exchanges posting only 42 IPOs raising a total of US$1.4b in Q1 2019. However, although Q1 2019 was a remarkably slow quarter, those EMEIA IPOs that did come to the main markets experienced average first-day returns of 4% and current returns of around 46%, giving IPO investor sentiment a boost.
In Europe and the UK, the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit continued to plague IPO markets, and risk of slow growth in large European economies resulted in only 23 companies issuing IPOs, with proceeds of US$0.4b.
EMEIA's two largest IPOs in Q1 2019 came from India's National Stock Exchange, accounting for 94% of India's IPO proceeds and 66% of EMEIA's proceeds for Q1 2019. However, a liquidity crisis among non-bank lenders caused a correction in the Indian stock market in Q4 2018, which has continued to impact Q1 2019 IPO activity.
Cross-border IPO activity in Q1 2019 remained at 2018 levels, accounting for 9% of EMEIA companies' IPO activity.
"Ongoing geopolitical tensions and trade issues, the risk of slower economic growth and uncertainties about Brexit delayed IPO activity in EMEIA in Q1 2019. IPO candidates are becoming more nervous, proceeding cautiously and taking a wait and see approach. However, with a number of mega IPOs and unicorns in the pipeline, and a diverse group of candidates, including family businesses, carve-outs and high-growth companies, we anticipate IPO activity to spring into action in the second half of 2019."
The data presented in the Global IPO trends: Q1 2019 report and press release is from Dealogic and EY. Q1 2019 (i.e., January-March) and 2019 (January-March) is based on priced IPOs as of 15 March 2019 and expected IPOs in March. Data is up to 15 March 2019, 12 p.m. UK time. All data contained in this document is sourced to Dealogic, CB Insights, Crunchbase and EY unless otherwise noted.


High-Definition Image Enhancer: The Bee's Knees! If you want to enjoy the highest fidelity picture possible on your HDTV, the DarbeeVision DARBLET HDMI High-Definition Image Enhancer is the solution for you.
DARBEE Visual Presence ™ (DVP) technology establishes a fundamental breakthrough for image realism. It is ideal for use with High Definition (HD) TV's and components such as Blu-ray, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, cable and satellite receivers, mobile and PVR. The Plug-n-Play device installs in seconds between any HDMI source and display. Using compatible HDMI cables (sold separately), first make a connection between the DARBLET (HDMI In) and your home theater component, and then between the DARBLET (HDMI Out) and your HDTV. After that, plug in your DARBLET, using the included power supply. That's it! You're ready to go! We found that no matter how good your display is, the DVP5000 will create better-looking images. Highly recommended for gamers and movie aficionados alike; at around $300, it is well worth the money.
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EMBIX is a joint venture of Bouygues Immobilier (Real estate developer and planner), Bouygues Energy and Services (Electrician, Facility Managers, and ESCO) and Alstom (Energy, Equipment and Smart Grid specialists), two industrial French companies. As an affiliate of Bouygues Immobilier, leading player on the real estate market and pioneer in Energy Positive Infrastructures and Buildings, EMBIX is addressing the Energy activity of the group.
EMBIX provides consultancy services and works together with its partners (public authorities, city council, architects and urban planners) to design and build Smart Grids ready Eco districts. EMBIX team expertise goes now beyond energy, its historical domain, and addresses other Smart Cities domains, as smart waste management, water management, ITC, etc. One of the main objectives of Smart Grids as developed by EMBIX is to improve the energy performance of the district while enhancing and intensifying efforts to improve the end user standard of living and promoting quality of life. In other words, the Smart Grids Design of the Eco-district will ensure the optimisation of the energy consumption and final bill, as well as maximization of local renewable energy production. Part of EMBIX expertise is its strong focus on the business model, analysing the return of investment of the CAPEX and OPEX of the global operation, while taking into account the local regulatory framework.
EMBIX develops a software solution to provide energy management services for eco-districts, featuring the latest advances in Smart Grids technologies. EMBIX platform called Urban Power™ is providing services for the acquisition, monitoring, control, forecast and optimization of the energy consumption and power production within a smart city. It is aiming to interface with other urban actors, as Building Management Systems, street lighting systems, decentralized electricity generation (Solar Panels, CHP, etc.), electrical vehicle charging system, and propose a global optimization of the usage of the energy. The EMBIX platform is highly scalable and flexible, and streamlines the complex process of meter data collection, from different technologies and providers. It aims to deliver data to different others systems (internal or external, as billing systems, Utilities Energy management Systems, Aggregator systems, etc...).